Wireless solutions company Radixs is showing a new handheld device hich offers users the power of the PC alongside the ability to create information and be entertained while "on the go."

The launch of the Motion eXperience Interface (MXI) OS signals a significant change in the way consumers can use wireless devices for computing and communications. The MXI OS was announced in September 2003. In this previous article I posted about an old article that shows that this "OS" is actually a client-server implementation.

Radixs has partnered with SingTel Mobile to trial MXI OS on the later's GPRS, Wi-Fi and upcoming 3G network. Devices offering MXI OS can be expected during the second half of 2004.

Mr Chye Hoon Pin, SingTel Mobile's Senior Director (Consumer Products - Mobile) said, "SingTel always believes in making communication and data access as hassle-free as possible for our customers. MXI promises to deliver that ease and effortlessness in enabling services and applications via a single device. The good news to our customers is that they can run complete desktop applications regardless of their host operating systems anytime and anywhere. The trial on our GPRS, Wi-Fi and 3G infrastructures is to ensure a seamless handover across these networks, which will then translate to a seamless user experience for our customers. They need not bother about which network is serving them. This will be the ultimate charm for our customers."

According to the company, while existing operating systems offer a stripped-down architecture where users can only access compromised mobile content, MXI's core strength provides instant desktop computing experiences and applications on mobile devices without any redevelopment. MXI also allows interoperability between various platforms, networks, software and hardware components.

MXI enables fully-fledged desktop applications written for Windows, Linux, Java, Palm and 32-bit console games to work immediately on mobile devices. Full Internet access via HTML 4.0 and Flash eliminates the need to strip down web services.

Plays all multimedia formats supported by the MXI Servers without the need to install new plug-ins

Fully customised skins with sound FX themes

Mobile operators can now use a single platform to provision and customise existing applications and content to consumers and enterprises. This ability allows operators to increase data revenue and margins per user. MXI's intuitive, easy-to-use interface and familiarity of applications allows for rapid adoption among users.

Instead of requiring a different OS for each and every device (mobile phone, gaming platform or PDA), device manufacturers can use a single operating system to deliver new and unique handheld devices to consumers and enterprises. Manufacturers can create unique form factors for different market segments, with the MXI OS running in the background, customised for each purpose.

Content and Application Developers (or Independent Software Vendors) can deploy their existing desktop applications written for other operating systems without any redevelopment on MXI OS, allowing them to leverage the large distribution channels of network operators. Users can then subscribe for these applications through their operators, and receive them instantly, on-demand.

Sun Microsystems' office suite, StarOffice 7, will see its first mobile version deployed on Radixs MXI which is completely compatible with Java. With its global community of open source developers at OpenOffice.org, with more that 33 million downloads, StarOffice is the world's leading productivity suite on Linux and the Solaris OS, and the main alternative to Windows. The software is affordable, easy-to-use, and based on open standards. It offers word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, and database capabilities.

"Sun's strategic alliance with Radixs opens new opportunities for users to experience our broad array of software technologies on mobile devices," said Barbara Kay, Director of Marketing, Mobility and Services, Sun Microsystems, Inc. "StarOffice 7 will be the first full-functional office productivity suite made available on Radixs' mobile devices along with the many Java applications on the market."

"Radixs has worked hard to enhance its core technology and now that it is ready, we have decided to adopt a strategic approach to partner with some of the biggest names globally," added Chandrasekar. "With SingTel, we are privileged to be working with a visionary and fast growing mobile operator with an extensive regional footprint covering 44 million subscribers. In our collaboration with Sun, we are working with an extensive technology offering of a global leader in network computing."